


peter quill, the most handsome of all (former) girl scouts

by fenwick



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, One Shot, PETER IS A BIG FAT MISTAKE, Peter is a mess, Second Date, Trans Peter Quill, god hes insufferable i love him, i cant help it, peter is a WASTE
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-27 07:42:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17158019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fenwick/pseuds/fenwick
Summary: Peter is both trans and a mess, and he doesn't really actually know how to come out to Gamora, even though he pretends he knows everything. But, you know, what did you expect?





	peter quill, the most handsome of all (former) girl scouts

Peter Quill sits in the pilot’s chair, which he does when he’s full of himself. And he is, often. It’s tough being Peter Quill, really. It’s hard to overcompensate 24/7. This time he has a reason to be proud, which marks an abnormality in the trend. He’s proud of himself today because he landed a second date with Gamora. The first date, in his mind, was a given. Not that he felt entitled to it….for the most part. But he knew it was coming. The glances, the way she brushed past him, the way she yelled at him to pick up his shit off the floor, Quill. Those things all gave it away. 

It was a good date, too. He sent the rest of them out on a wild goose chase so he could have the ship to himself. They watched the stars and various other ships fly by, as well as they could see them through the layer of glass holding all the air in. Then she fell asleep with her head on his chest while the radio played softly, which made Peter fall so deep in love that he went blind for two minutes and imagine what kind of ring he should propose with when he asks her to marry him. Drax was the first one to ruin it when he returned from the thing, and next Rocket had his turn to mock him for hours about how sappy he is.

Despite the proud exterior, on the inside, way back in his head, he’s very nervous. The second date is two things for Peter Quill: the kiss date, and the date where you come out of the closet. The first part is much more fun for him than the other one. Usually, Quill doesn’t get to the second date. Or the first one. He gets to the one-night stand, and if you’re super careful on that one, you don’t even have to come out. It does require that you keep your pants on though. Which is weirder to some of his previous short-term partners than it would be if he just told them he was trans. Peter doesn’t know that yet, though. Not yet. Someday.

Anyways, this date with Gamora is really high-risk high-reward, one, because he’s in love with her, and two, because he’s stuck with her. If he tells her he’s trans and she doesn’t like that, he’s fucked for as long as they’re both doing the whole save-the-galaxy thing. The galaxy would be fucked, too, by extension. Also, he’s in love with her. Fuck. 

The second date is already all planned out, mostly. He found the classiest restaurant that was both within budget and one of the only ones that didn’t bar him specifically from entry. Because of the whole outlaw thing he had going for a while. Well, it never really ended, did it? It doesn’t matter, because this place is perfect and Gamora will be blown away at how much of an adult he is and then he’ll come out super quick at the end. It’s fine! The more he thinks about this, the more his pride deflates, and no one wants that, so he stops thinking about it. Or tries to. There’s not really anyone else to think about. 

 

The date happens on a Sunday, the type of Sunday where no one in the Milano remembers which month or year it is. A typical Sunday.

He jumped through a lot of hoops to try and hide this excursion from everyone else. He’s only worried about Rocket knowing. Everyone else on the Milano would be fine to tell, except he can’t trust a single one of them to not tell Rocket. Currently, they should be on a second wild goose chase halfway across the galaxy. And he’s counting on them to come back by eleven, because he lives there, actually. It’s all Peter can hope for.

The green planet that takes up the view on their cozy little glider is home to one of the fanciest, affordable, and yet...non-discriminate restaurants in the entire galaxy. Peter glides them down through the atmosphere nice and easy while Gamora sleeps softly in the co-pilot’s seat. She’s beautiful and that’s horrifying to him because the stakes have never been higher and he curses himself for letting them get so high in the first place. It’s been about...maybe 20 years since he said the words ‘I’m trans’ out loud, or maybe he’s never even said it at all. And Peter’s not even sure why he feels like he has to say it to Gamora as soon as possible before his heart falls out of his chest, but he does. He feels like everything has been leading to this moment, the nice dinner and then let her down, gently. Soften the blow a bit.

He sighs and grips tighter on the steering wheel. Gamora wakes herself up and looks around. Lights speckle the dark blue sky above, and below them, a string of neon outlines the parking spots. The signs are all in some kind of alien language, but the directional arrows are universal. Peter parks the glider and opens the door for Gamora. They say nothing as they walk to the entrance of the golden building before them. Peter prays to god that they don’t kick him out. It would ruin just about everything he ever hoped to do tonight and for the rest of time.

He approaches the bouncer outside with Gamora close behind, who stands above Peter by at least 2 feet and glares down at him.

“H...hi, I’m Peter Quill, I think I’m on the lis-” Before he can finish, he feels the hard press of a gun barrel between his shoulder blades and he puts his hands up behind the back of his head. Gamora sighs and starts to walk back to the ship.

“Um...I..I’m gonna follow her?” Peter suggests and twists his neck a bit to try and watch her leave. The barrel presses harder against him and he whips his neck back forward.

“H’ka snng akka, giih’k!” The gunman steps back, still aiming his weapon at Quill and gestures with his other hand that he should leave. Soon.

“Oh, okay.” Peter backs up slowly at first, then slowly works up the confidence to run back after Gamora, who was already trying and failing to open the locked door. Peter curses again, quietly under his breath, and fumbles around in his pocket for the key. One click and the locks disengage, the door on the left rises vertically and the courtesy steps lower on command. Gamora rushes in first with Peter close behind, taking off her high heels as soon as she steps in the door.

“Gamora, I’m sorry, they said they’d let me in, I really-”

“Don’t speak.”

Peter gulps. She sits down in the co-pilot’s chair with a sigh and looks up to the stars. Following silently, he takes off his dress shoes and takes his place in the pilot’s chair. “At least it’s beautiful here.” She says as she smiles warmly. Peter’s heart jumps in his chest.

“I’m trans.” Oh, whoops. He makes eye contact, if only for a brief moment. The expression on her face is entirely unreadable. Figures.

“What?”

“Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, nevermind.” Peter rubs the back of his neck and starts the ignition. “Just kidding, you know?”

Gamora shifts in her seat as the engine roars to life. “Wait, slow down. I don’t know what that means.”

Peter lets the engine run in place for a minute before shutting it off. She’s still staring at him expectantly, waiting for some kind of explanation. He looks at her softly and no one says anything for a minute or two, uncharacteristic for Quill.

“I was in the Girl Scouts.” He smirks at his own joke, very characteristic for Quill.

“Who are the Girl Scouts?” Of course she doesn’t know what that is either. Peter sighs and she rolls her eyes. “You have no right to do that. I’m only asking. Is the Girls Scouts some kind of smuggling operation?” This makes Peter laugh, and she whacks him with her clutch a few times in retaliation.

“Ow. Ow! Stop! No, they weren’t. Well, maybe. But that’s a whole other story. I was…” Peter clears his throat. “I was a Junior rank before Yondu fuckin’...picked me off the tree like a piece of fruit and stole me away for some more obvious smuggling work.” 

A fond smile from Gamora. “Is that a good rank?”

“Yeah...yeah, it is. Was.” He smiles back.

“So...trans means you were in the Girl Scouts?” She thinks for a second. “Thank you for letting me know.”

He drops his smile. “Um, no...see, the thing about the Girl Scouts is that only girls are allowed in, Gamora. So…”

“A fluke...”

“N..no, see...well, okay...It’s like…” Peter trips over his own words, unsure of how to go about this. This wasn’t the plan.

“Spit it out!” She uses her clutch to gesture, an intimidation tactic. He watches it closely, intent on being ready for the next attack.

“I was a girl, Gamora. It’s more complicated than that but that’s what I’m trying to get you to understand. I was born a girl, and when I was 14 I stole testosterone from the Ravager’s shipments and no one even noticed when I went through a second puberty. That’s how much they loved me over there.” The room falls silent while the faint sounds of the busy restaurant echo from across the street. A bouncer paces outside, waiting not so patiently for them to leave the premises.

“Oh. I think I understand.” She kisses him on the cheek. It’s part reassurance, and part of it is for her own amusement because she knows exactly how to get to him. “It’s ok. You’re not the first I’ve met. We just don’t call it that.”

He rubs his cheek where she kissed him and tries not to blush. It’s not manly. “What do you call it, then?” She laughs and Peter is very confused.

“We don’t call it anything, because it’s normal.” The silence that follows no longer terrifies Peter. It’s a soft silence, a kind one. “Can we go home now?”

He looks at her with all the stars in his eyes. “You know, I-” Nope, don’t drag this on for more than it needs to be dragged. Let it be what it is. He stops himself and only smiles, not to her but to himself. This time he has a reason to be proud, at least in his own mind. The engine rumbles as he turns the key, and the bouncer on duty outside breathes a sigh of relief as they leave the parking lot, finally. Running his hands through his hair, he shuffles his way back into the tiny office filled to the brim with security cameras and plops down eagerly on the worn swivel chair which sits a the center of it all.

Watching the dull screens in front of him he rubs his face with his hands. “Fucking humans.”

 

Back on the Milano, Rocket pilots the ship as they circle a neighboring planet looking for….Rocket glances on the paper to remind himself of what they’re actually looking for. Except he can’t read, which is why Peter left a confusing but helpful pictograph of a goose. No one on the Milano currently knows what a goose is, which is the challenge. Rocket puts it up near his face, as close as he can get it to his eyes, and squints, intent on uncovering the goose puzzle Quill has obviously laid out for them. 

“Have you found the creature, Rocket?” Drax yells from behind him, where he and Mantis work hard on playing scrabble in a way it was never intended to be played. Mantis dutifully places each letter square carefully on top of the previous one. The tower gently sways as the ship stalls.

Rocket growls. “OF COURSE I HAVEN’T FOUND IT YET! WHERE WOULD I HAVE FOUND IT, DRAX?” Angrily, he tries to throw the scrap paper on the floor. Instead of slamming down on the ground, it simply flutters softly downward. Mantis holds out her hands to catch it before it falls.

“Maybe it is hiding in the ship?”

Rocket grunts with frustration and the ship jerks, which causes the tower to topple after much suspense. Mantis says nothing and starts the tower again. This is the third time she has started the tower, and it won’t be the last. Rocket flicks his ear and notices a twinkle in the near distance. The nearest sun is reflecting off a fast-approaching glider ship, and Rocket hides his excitement carefully because he knows that’s Peter and Gamora. He’s not excited to see Peter, but secretly, he is excited to find out if they found the goose or not. And somewhere, even deeper down, he likes it when Gamora scratches in between his ears. There’s thumping from above as they dock the small glider and climb down the metal ladder and into the ship.

Oh, god. Rocket is horrified to hear that they’re both...GIGGLING. Like little kids. If Peter comes out here I’m gonna blow him halfway to Earth. 

Peter comes out there and Rocket’s fingers twitch. They’re INSUFFERABLE. Quill sits down in the pilot’s seat next to them and steals the controls, as usual. Gamora heads back to the rooms to get out of the fancy clothes, wasted after the restaurant denied them entry after all. Rocket sneers and looks at Peter. He squints as Peter tries to look innocent but fails.

“Find that goose?” Peter says with a smirk.

“No. Did you, pretty boy?” Peter turns to him. “Hey, wait a second. Are you wearing lipstick? Did you steal Gamora’s lip-” Peter hastily wipes the lipstick smears off his face and Rocket is hit with the realization of a lifetime.

“Oh. My. God. Quill.” He stands up in his chair, an imposing sight. 

Peter grips the steering will and speeds up slightly. “What, what? Is there something on my face?” He speaks with the smugness ingrained in his voice, which Rocket hates the most.

Rocket chuckles and reaches for the handgun he keeps next to the seat. “Quill.” His fingers rest on the trigger as he aims it at Quill’s arm. Quill puts his hands up and deploys the brake with his foot smoothly. “If you had SEX in MY. GLIDER, QUILL.” He aims it higher and Peter watches him carefully and calmly. “I WILL KILL YOU IMMEDIATELY I SWEAR TO YOU. I WILL NOT HESITATE I CAN’T ST-”

Mantis jumps up and touches Quill’s forehead softly. Her antennae glow dimly. “He didn’t!” She cheers, which makes Drax cheer too, despite not hearing what caused the cheering in the first place. Rocket lowers the gun slowly but never takes his eyes off Quill. It locks back into the holster by the seat and Peter smirks as he lowers his hands to the steering wheel and starts it back up again.

“I didn’t, Rocket…” Peter glides the Milano past a few smaller planets as their moons as they continue their trajectory. He just can’t help himself. He just can’t do it. Peter Quill has never been able to help himself. So he says the thing everyone in the galaxy could have told you he would say.

“But I’m gonna.”

Peter Quill was subsequently and finally shot in the arm by Rocket, as he deserved.


End file.
